MSI’s Z270 and H270 motherboard lineup has been leaked ahead of their launch in January 2017. The board lineup includes next-generation GAMING, Tomahawk, Bazooka and Pro series products which will be aimed at enthusiasts and gamers.

The MSI lineup that has been leaked includes 16 motherboards which feature the Z270 and H270 chipset. There will be more boards added to the lineup at launch, but currently we have gathered details for listed products.

All Z270 and H270 boards which have been leaked are designed for mainstream audiences which include both gamers and overclockers. The boards listed here are cost optimized compared to the ones we have seen so far. There will be additional boards in MSI’s lineup added on launch day such as XPOWER and Gaming 9 with higher prices but designed to be more feature rich and geared for enthusiasts. So let’s get straight in to the details.

MSI Z270 Gaming M7 Motherboard

The MSI Z270 Gaming 7 motherboard comes with a very aggressive design with a black and red color scheme. There is a 12 phase PWM supply that features top-of-the-line components. The LGA 1151 socket is featured on this motherboard to support 6th and 7th generation Intel Core processors.

The entire PWM section along with the I/O port is shielded by a cover. VRMs are cooled by heatsinks that are interconnected via heatpipe. MSI Z270 Gaming 7 houses four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting dual channel memory with speeds rated beyond 4000 MHz in OC mode. All DIMM slots are shielded by a MSI’s steel armor which will increase durability with less PCB bending when installing DIMMs.

Expansion slots include three PCI-e 3.0 x16 slots which are shielded by the same metallic cover, three PCI-e 3.0 x1 slots and three M.2 slots. The expansion slots have covers which mark their positioning on the board. This is an interesting design which we haven’t seen before. The PCH is covered by a large heatsink. Bear in mind that all heatsinks and covers will feature Mystic Light RGB LEDs. MSI will ship the board with their latest M.2 shields that adds a protection and cooling layer on top of an M.2 device.

Storage ports include 6 SATA III and a Turbo U.2 port for NVMe SSDs. There’s also a right angled USB 3.0 connector, a diagnostic panel and couple of other goodies packed into the I/O panel.

MSI Z270 Gaming M5 Motherboard

The MSI Z270 Gaming 5 motherboard also features a very aggressive design with full black color scheme. The motherboard features Mystic Light RGB LEDs that allow it to display colors through the various LEDs scattered around the board. The same tech is featured inside the Gaming M7 and Gaming M9. There is a 10+1 phase PWM supply that features top-of-the-line components such as black solid-state capacitors. Power is supplied through a single 8-pin connector. The LGA 1151 socket on this motherboard supports 6th and 7th generation Intel Core processors.

The entire PWM section along with the I/O port is shielded by a cover. VRMs are cooled by heatsinks that do not contain any heatpipes like the M7, but the plastic is interconnected. MSI Z270 Gaming 5 houses four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting dual channel memory with speeds rated beyond 4000 MHz in OC mode. All DIMM slots are shielded by MSI’s steel armor which increases durability with less PCB bending when installing DIMMs.

Expansion slots include three PCI-e 3.0 x16 slots which are shielded by the same metallic cover, three PCI-e 3.0 x1 slots and a single M.2 slot. MSI will ship the board with their latest M.2 shields that adds a protection and cooling layer on top of a M.2 device. Expansion slots on the Gaming M5 are also marked down with a number scheme to make installation easy.

The PCH is covered by a large heatsink which comes embedded with Mystic Aura lighting which allows the user to set the colors according to their preferences. Storage ports include 6 SATA III and a Turbo U.2 port for NVMe SSDs. There’s also a right angled USB 3.0 connector, a diagnostic panel and couple of other goodies. The I/O panel includes two USB 2.0, two USB 3.0, dual USB 3.1 (Type-A, Type-C), HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort, a Lightning USB port, an Ethernet port and a 7.1 channel audio jack.

MSI Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon Motherboard

The MSI Z270 Gaming PRO Carbon motherboard sticks with its carbon fiber design with a black / white color theme along with carbon fiber textures on the heatsinks. The motherboard features Mystic Light RGB LEDs that allow it to display colors through the various LEDs scattered around the board. There is a 10+1 phase PWM supply that features top-of-the-line components such as black solid-state capacitors. Power is supplied through a single 8-pin connector. The LGA 1151 socket on this motherboard supports 6th and 7th generation Intel Core processors.

The entire I/O panel is shielded by a cover. VRMs are cooled by heatsinks that do not contain any heatpipes but are big enough to keep them stable under load. MSI Z270 Gaming PRO Carbon houses four DDR4 DIMM slots with dual channel memory support at speeds rated beyond 4000 MHz in OC mode. All DIMM slots are shielded by MSI’s steel armor which increases durability with less PCB bending when installing DIMMs.

Expansion slots include three PCI-e 3.0 x16 slots which are shielded by the same metallic cover, three PCI-e 3.0 x1 slots and two Turbo M.2 slot. MSI will ship the board with their latest M.2 shields that adds a protection and cooling layer on top of an M.2 device.

The PCH is covered by a large heatsink which comes embedded with Mystic Aura lighting which allows the user to set the colors according to their preferences. Storage ports include 4 SATA III of which two are angled to the top. There’s also a right angled USB 3.0 connector, Audio Boost G chip which is isolated on its own PCB that is indicated by a LED strip featuring RGB capabilities. The I/O panel includes two USB 2.0, four USB 3.0, dual USB 3.1 (Type-A, Type-C), HDMI 2.0, DVI, PS/2 port, an Ethernet port and a 7.1 channel audio jack.

MSI Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC Motherboard

The MSI Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC is the Mini-ITX version of the Gaming Pro Carbon. It has the same Mystic Light LED features embedded on the PCB along with some additional details. First up, we have the CPU socket which is powered by a 5 phase PWM supply and supplied power through a single 8-pin connector. All VRMs are cooled by a single heatsink that comes with carbon fiber texturing.

The two DIMM slots support memory with speeds of up to 4000 MHz (O.C+) and capacities up to 32 GB (16 GB per DIMM). All DIMM slots are shielded by MSI’s steel armor which increasesdurability with less PCB bending when installing DIMMs.

Expansion slots include a single PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot that is protected by a steel cover for max durability. The PCH on the board is covered by a tiny heatsink that is smaller than the entire socket. Storage options include four SATA III ports. There’s also a USB 3.0 front panel connector and an Audio Boost chip for high-def audio. A single Wi-Fi + BT 802.11 AC card offers wireless connectivity which is an essential component on Mini-ITX main boards.

I/O on the board includes dual USB 2.0, dual USB 3.0, dual USB 3.1 (Type-A, Type-C), a PS/2 port, HDMI, DisplayPort and an HD audio jack. There are also antenna connectors for wireless connectivity. The antennas are bundled with the board itself.

MSI Z270 KRAIT Gaming Motherboard

MSI may have teased the Z270 KRAIT Gaming a few days ago but this is the first time you will get a good look at the product itself. MSI went with an Arctic Camo color theme with this board with an aggressive white and black mixture scattered on the board.

There is a 10+1 phase PWM supply that features top-of-the-line components such as black solid-state capacitors. Power is supplied through a single 8-pin connector. The LGA 1151 socket on this motherboard supports 6th and 7th generation Intel Core processors.

The entire I/O panel is shielded by a cover. VRMs are cooled by heatsinks that do not contain any heatpipes, but are big enough to keep them stable under load. MSI Z270 KRAIT Gaming houses four DDR4 DIMM slots which support dual channel memory with speeds rated beyond 4000 MHz in OC mode. All DIMM slots are shielded by MSI’s steel armor which increases durability with less PCB bending when installing DIMMs.

Expansion slots include three PCI-e 3.0 x16 slots which are shielded by the same metallic cover, three PCI-e 3.0 x1 slots and two Turbo M.2 slot. MSI will ship the board with their latest M.2 shields that adds a protection and cooling layer on top of an M.2 device.

The PCH is covered by a large heatsink which is engraved with the MSI Gaming G Series logo. Storage ports include 4 SATA III of which two are angled to the top. There’s also two USB 3.0 connectors, Audio Boost G chip which is isolated on its own PCB that is indicated by a LED strip featuring white LED. The I/O panel includes two USB 2.0, four USB 3.0, dual USB 3.1 (Type-A, Type-C), HDMI 2.0, DVI, PS/2 port, an Ethernet port and a 7.1 channel audio jack.

MSI Z270 TOMAHAWK ARSENAL Gaming Motherboard

MSI also teased their Z270 Tomahawk motherboard which is part of the Arsenal Gaming series. MSI went with a special color theme here as we can see multiple shades of red and brown along with the main textures of black and silver on the PCB.

There is a 10+1 phase PWM supply that features top-of-the-line components such as black solid-state capacitors. Power is supplied through a single 8-pin connector. The LGA 1151 socket on this motherboard supports 6th and 7th generation Intel Core processors.

The entire I/O panel is shielded by a cover. VRMs are cooled by heatsinks that do not contain any heatpipes, but are big enough to keep them stable under load. MSI Z270 TOMOHAWK houses four DDR4 DIMM slots which support dual channel memory with speeds rated beyond 4000 MHz in OC mode. All DIMM slots are shielded by MSI’s steel armor which increases durability with less PCB bending when installing DIMMs.

Expansion slots include three PCI-e 3.0 x16 slots which are shielded by the same metallic cover, three PCI-e 3.0 x1 slots and two Turbo M.2 slots. The PCH is covered by a large heatsink which features red colored RED lighting. Storage ports include 6 SATA III connectors. There’s also two USB 3.0 connectors, Audio Boost G chip which is isolated on its own PCB that is indicated by a LED strip featuring red LEDs. AMD also showed us a sneak peek of MSI’s X370 chipset based Tomahawk motherboard at the New Horizon event which looks sleek.

MSI Z270 SLI PLUS Motherboard

First up, we have the Z270 SLI Plus which is the more feature loaded product of the PRO SLI series. This board has a 10+1 Phase PWM supply which is cooled down by two large heatsinks. The LGA 1151 socket is powered by an 8-pin connector and the board is powered by the 24-Pin ATX connector. The motherboard comes in the standard ATX form factor and has four DIMM slots that support MSI’s DDR4 Boost feature. This allows the motherboard to run memory with XMP profiles.

All DIMM slots are shielded by MSI’s steel armor which increases durability with less PCB bending when installing DIMMs. Expansion slots include three PCI-e 3.0 x16 (x16/x8/x8 electrical), three PCI-e 3.0 x1 and two Turbo M.2 slots that run over the PCI-e bus. Storage options include 6 SATA III ports and dual USB 3.0 front panel ports.

The motherboard comes with the latest Audio Boost panel for premium audio quality and the I/O panel is covered by a nice cover black and white cover. The PRO series has always been close to the budget side so expect this board to cost under 200 bucks. I/O ports include a single PS/2, two USB 2.0, four USB 3.0, dual USB 3.1 (Type-A, Type-C), HDMI, DVI, Ethernet port and an audio jack.

MSI Z270 SLI Motherboard

The second board is the MSI Z270 SLI which is a simpler version of the SLI PLUS. We are looking at a similar design but missing the white accents. MSI has a full black color scheme for this board. The CPU socket is powered by a 10+1 phase PWM that is supplied power through a single 8-pin connector.

The motherboard comes in the standard ATX form factor and has four DIMM slots that support MSI’s DDR4 Boost feature. This allows the motherboard to run memory with XMP profiles. Expansion slots include three PCI-e 3.0 x16 (x16/x8/x8 electrical), three PCI-e 3.0 x1 and two Turbo M.2 slots that run over the PCI-e bus. Storage options include 6 SATA III ports and dual USB 3.0 front panel ports.

The motherboard comes with the latest Audio Boost panel for premium audio quality and the I/O panel is covered by a nice black and white cover. Expect this board to cost around $150 US or even less.

MSI Z270 PC Mate Motherboard

The MSI PC Mate series is also receiving an update with the 200-series chipset. The MSI Z270 PC Mate will offer a more stylish design compared to the last generation offering with a full black/silver color theme. The board will have with a 6+1 phase PWM that is powered by an 8-pin connector. The four DDR4 DIMM will support MSI’s DDR4 boost feature and up to 64 GB memory capacity. All VRMs will be cooled by the dual heatsink solution.

Expansion slots will include two PCI-e 3.0 x16 slots, one of which is shielded by metal armor. There’s also three PCI-e 3.0 x1 and a single PCI slot. Dual M.2 slots (Non-Turbo) are featured on this board. Storage includes six SATA III ports and dual USB 3.0 front panel connectors. I/O on the motherboard includes a PS/2 port, dual USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, dual USB 3.1 (Type-A, Type-C) ports, HDMI, DVI, VGA, an Ethernet jack and a 3 channel audio jack.

MSI H270 and B250 Motherboards

MSI doesn’t stop at just the top-end boards, they are also going to offer several H270 and B250 motherboards to consumers. These products will have lower prices and come with the same featureset as their Z-series offerings.

There will be several products in this line such as the PC Mate series (detailed above), Pro Series and the Bazooka series. Details for these motherboards range from product to product. Non-Essential features such as the Gaming stuff and RGB Lighting will not be included on these boards but they will more or less function the same as the Z-series PCH products.